Traveling rack



F. Ef COLLE-rre; 2,880,878A

' TRAVELING RACK Filed may 2o, 1954 April 7, 1959 wiz 24 United StatesPatent foif" TRAVELING :RACK

Floyd E. Collette, Farmington, Minn. Appr-cation May zo, 11954, serialN0. A431,112 s claims. (crau-'1.5)

This invention relates to la 'traveling rack and more particularly to arack forsuppo'rtingand moving articles such -as garments dependingtherefrom.

It has been customary in 'such businesses as dry-cleaning 'and articlestorage, 'to -provide lockers orracks having fixed supports, or at best,sliding supporting bars having a limited movement in a short space. Whenplacing or removing each article :from its suspended position, -it hasbeen a requisite for the person in charge of such activity `tophysically go to the position on the Vrack and 'search out from theplurality of articles the position of the article to be placed orremoved. Many devices and systems have been proposed to simplify andmake more 'efficient the work of the person who 'handles the articles,Most of these propositions have to do with marking, tagging, indexingand selecting proper positions vfor the articles, but `it still has beennecessary 'forthe person "to go Ato the particular location of thearticle 'rather 'than having an article come to him.

`In order to have 'the Aarticles themselves V"travel to a prescribedlocation, it is necessary in a vbusiness such as dry cleaning toconserve space and therefore the nature of a traveling rack, to beuseful, requires that it have switchbacks or tortuous :pathways lformedover an area of space rather than along a straight line only. If therack is to be continuous as well as tortuous, 'there is presented aproblem by the great total Weight of the garments and the attendantfriction Vof the moving rack,

especially in the region of the curves. Furthermore, unless there isindividual power means for locomotion at a plurality of positions oralong the rack member, Lit beco'mes necessary to apply tension upon thecontinuous member which holds the suspendedarticles. created by tensionlengthwise of the rack and also vertically by weight of the articles,multiplies Vthe problems in operating a continuous rack for traveling ina tortuous pathway.

My invention contemplates achieving the foregoing objectives whileovercoming the noted Yditii'culties and has for an important objectproviding an apparatus 'for `eiiciently and simply moving in 'awelt-conserved area, a traveling rack for a plurality of articles suchas garments so that any one of them may be placed or'removed at apreselected fixed position. N

Another'object of the invention is vto provide va exible articlecarrying belt for traveling in a tortuous horizontal path wherein thebelt may 'be stressed longitudinally to canse the belt to travel freelyalong the path and at the same time be stressed vertically by vtheweight-'of the individual articles suspended therefrom.

A further objectrof the `invention is to provide an article supportinghexible belt which is suspended in relation to a tortuous track andwhich is vprovided with radial thrust members to y rnairrtain lfreemovement of the belt around `the bends of the -tortuous track. v

A .still further object `of the invention is to 'provide 'an ei'cientstoring apparatus housed within enclosure and having a traveling article'suspension 'system which The stress 2,880,878 Fatented Apr.` 7,

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'2 will permit `placing and removing articles on the system through anopeningin the enclosure at a prescribed location.

These `and other objects land advantages of the invention will morefully appear 'from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the-same-or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my traveling rack Adisposed within anenclosure;

Fig. 2 is lva horizontal viewof the traveling belt mecha"- fnism takenon the line 2'-2 of Fig. 1, portions of the apparatus being cut away tobetter show the hidden parts; y Fig. 3 vis an enlarged vertical segmenttaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the belt and Yradial thrustassembly at one of the belts in the track; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of a segment of the track membertaken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2, certain portions of the section beingshown in full line.

With continued reference to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 1, `myinvention includes a supporting structure 10 which preferably comprisesan enclosure having vertical side walls `vL1 and a top or ceiling 12which extends across `the tops of the vertical side walls 11. Theenclosure is -also provided with one or more openings 13 which providesan access to the interior and may be closed if it is desired to-maintain the enclosure in dustproof condition. The enclosure may be ofany general shape andmay comprise individual units o'r a large unithaving an irregular shape and adapted to conserve and utilize spacewithin an establishment such as a dry 'cleaning place of business.

Disposed horizontally and secured to the ysupporting structure at theroofor ceiling 12 is a track element indicated generally at 14 as shownin Fig. 2. The track element may take any of `a number `of forms butprovides a track or guideway 16 which is unobstructed and which ispreferably arranged in endless fashion to provide a tortuous pathwayhaving a plurality of arcuate bends 17 as shown. It is understood thatthe track element may provide a series of switchbacks angulated indifferent directions and occupying irregular areas. In the instant case,the track element is constructed of a flat sheet member .f8 which issecured to the underside of rafters 19 which provide spacing members aswell as interconnecting supports for attachment to the roof or ceiling112. The outside rafters 19 may be of single length Yfor the entirelength of the enclosure and shorter rafters 20 may be interposed betweenthe sheet 1S and roof 12 around the arcuate bends .17 as shown. It isunderstood rthat the .spacing supports may be in other forms than therafters shown, such as cylindrical spacers in conjunction with boltsandthe like. The elongated rafters, however, are the simplest which Ihave found to accomplish the securing of the track element and alsoprovide a working clearance with the roof V12 for the mechanism as willbe presently described. The inner 4portion of the track element is shownat 2-1 and may likewise constitute a sheet which is coplanar with sheet18 and the respective outer and inner `peripheries 15 lof which sheetsform a slotted guideway or track 16 of uniform width in its straightsections as wellvas at the curved portions 17. Spacers or rafters 22similar to the rafters 19 and 20 are secured vto the sheet 21 and arevin turn secured to the underside of roof 12 so as to `rigidly supportthe track element and yet allow free 'and unobstructed movement throughthe guide or slot `formed therebetween.

A exible member such as belt '2s 'is disposed for travel along`'thetra'clt element 16 and preferably is endlessn fo'rin and conformsto the tr'tuous path including rollers being set forth in enlargeddetail in Fig. 4. The

guiding and suspension means preferably constitutes a shaft 27 and ashaft 28 which have central bores which are drilled and tapped and drawntogether by the threaded rod 29 as shown in Fig. 4. The stub shafts 27and 28 4are then in aligned abutment on each side of the belt 23 withthe threaded bar 29 passing through an opening 30 formed near the upperedge 24 of the exible belt 23. The stub shafts 27 and 28 have an annularrace at 31 and 32 respectively, the race being adapted to accommodate aplurality of roller bearing members 33 on the race 31 and 34 on the race32. A roller element preferably constructed of wood or plastic at 35 onstub shaft 27, and 36 on stub shaft 28, is rotatably mounted, each ofthe rollers having a roller bearing retainer and outer race 37 and 38respectively. A washer 39 and a washer 40 is secured in abuttingrelation with a shouldered reduced end 41 and 42 of the stub shafts 27and 28 respectively, and bolts 43 and 44 respectively secure the washersin place and permit the rollers 35 and 36 to rotate freely on thealigned stub shafts 27 and 28. The track element 14 supports the guidingand suspension means 26 at its respective rolls 35 and 36 upon theperipheral edges 15 of the respective sheet members 21 and 18 as shownin Fig. 4.

The flexiblebelt 23 has disposed in spaced relation adjacent the loweredge 25, a series of openings 45 between each of which adjacent pair isdisposed a fastening member 46 for supporting articles such as garmentssuspended therefrom upon a clothes hanger. ln order to conform with theflexible quality of the belt and to be able to ex in either direction, Iprefer U-shaped wire members which extend outwardly in a lateraldirection through openings 45 and have L-shaped inner end extensions 47which are adapted to lie against the upstanding surface of flexible belt23 at the side opposite the U-shaped extension. as shown in Fig. 4. Theends 47 of each of the fastening or hanger members 46 lie closelytogether and may be secured to the belt by such means as a staple 48which binds the two extensions at each opening 45 tightly against theside of the flexible belt. It is preferred that each of the guiding andsuspension means 26 be -spaced at frequent intervals as shown in Fig. 2and that the fastening members 46 be continuous and overlapping in theirconnection with the flexible belt 23.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be observed that a radial thrust membershown generally at 49 is mounted rotatably with respect to thesupporting structure and forms with the track element 14, a means forapplying stress outwardly against the flexible belt at the arcuate bends17 so as to prevent distortion or misalignment of the belt as it ispulled around the track element. The radial thrust member is preferablyin the form of a fiat disc wheel mounted upon a vertical shaft 50 and isrotatable in a horizontal direction. It is preferred that the wheel 49be coplanar with both the sheets 18 and 21 so that one of the rollers 35and 36 will rest upon the wheel 49 while'the other roller rests upon themarginal edge of sheet 18. It is understood that as many wheels 49 asdesired may be utilized, one of such thrust wheels being employed foreach of the arcuate bends in the system. With the arrangement shown, itis possible for the flexible belt to extend in any direction and can bebent to either side, depending upon the shape of the switchbacks inutilizing the area and floor space of any particular building. The beltis caused to travel by a powered means such as motor 51 which ispreferably in driving connection with a gear reduction box 52vwhich inturn drives a pulley wheel 53. The pulley wheel 53 in turn drivesthrough belt member 54 a driven pulley 55 which is also secured to oneof the vertical shaft members 50 which rotatably supports the radialthrust wheel 49 as shown. Under normal circumstances, only one of thedrive means may be employed in connection with a wheel 49 although it isunderstood that several may be used, especially where the exible belt isextremely long in its total length.

An electrical control system indicated generally at 56 may be employedto start and stop the motor 51 and, if desired, to reverse the directionof the belt so as to bring articles 57 to the access or doorway 13 forselection by a person standing at the prescribed location.

In the use and operation of my traveling rack, and especially inconnection with the storage and handling of garments in a dry cleaningestablishment, I place the garments on wire hangers with the usual papercoverings as shown in Fig. 1, and hang the garments at preselectedpositions upon the fastening members 46 as shown. I prefer that theU-shaped members 46 extend only far enough away from the side of belt 23to permit the entrance of hangers 58 as shown in Fig. l. The hangerswill tend to lie in an angular direction with respect to the belt 23 andhence will not occupy as much room as though they were strictly normalto the longitudinal direction of the belt. When it is desired to placeor remove a garment from a position which is not accessible at the timethrough access-Way 13, the control 56 is actuated so that motor 51 willdrive wheel 49 in one direction or the other at the will of theoperator. Wheel 49 thrusts outwardly against the flexible belt 23 at thearcuate bend 17 and also provides the longitudinal stress for drivingthe belt along the track element 14. As the belt travels, each of theguiding and suspension members 26 rolls along the trackway, providing areduced friction support for the belt and permitting considerable weightto be suspended `from the belt at frequent intervals along its entirelength. As each of the rollers approaches a bend 17, it follows theguideway or track 15, the continuation of which at the bend is formed bythe wheel 49. The belt is prevented from pulling inwardly underlongitudinal stress by the outward radial thrust of wheel 49 and is keptin freely guided condition around the bend and back to a straight trackor guideway for continued travel throughout the length of the trackelement.

It may thus be seen that I have devised a novel traveling rack whichwill accommodate, with a minimum of motive power, a large number ofsuspended articles traveling in spaced conserving manner over aconsiderable area, the articles being brought at will to a predeterminedlocation for placement or removal from the rack.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and pro portions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A traveling rack for supporting and carrying a plurality of articleswhich comprises, a supporting structure, a track element disposedhorizontally and secured to said supporting structure at an elevatedposition providing a substantially unrestricted space beneath, saidtrack element having a plurality of arcuate bends in spaced relationthroughout its length, a flexible belt disposed vertically edgewise fortravel below said track element and conforming to the bends therein, lowfriction guiding and suspension means attached to said exible beltadjacent the upper edge and mounted in spaced relation along said trackelement, fastening members formed along said flexible belt adjacent thelower edge for holding said articles in suspended relation therefrom,and a horizontal wheel rotatably mounted with respect to the supportingstructure and bearing laterally against said exible belt at the innercurve of each of said arcuate bends for maintaining the belt inalignment with the track during travel.

2. A traveling rack for supporting and carrying a plurality of articleswhich comprises, a supporting structure, a track element disposedhorizontally and secured to said supporting structure at an elevatedposition providing a substantially unrestricted space beneath, saidtrack element having a plurality of arcuate bends in spaced relationthroughout its length, a flexible belt disposed vertically edgewise fortravel beneath said track element and conforming to the bends therein,low friction guiding and suspension means attached to said exible beltadjacent the upper edge and mounted along said track element formovement therealong, fastening members formed along said flexible beltadjacent the lower edge thereof for holding said articles againstvertical stress, a radial thrust member disposed at the inner curvedside of the llexible belt at each of said arcuate bends and interposedwith respect to said supporting structure and said flexible belt formaintaining the belt in alignment with the track during travel, anddriving means for placing tension on said belt and thereby pulling it ina horizontal direction along said track with said articles suspendedtherefrom and traveling therewith.

3. A traveling rack for supporting and moving a plurality of articlessuch as garments comprising, a supporting structure, an endless trackelement dispo-sed horizontally and secured to said supporting structureat an elevated position and providing a substantially unrestricted spacetherebeneath, said track element having a plurality of arcuate bendsdisposed at spaced relation one with the other throughout the length ofsaid track, guiding and suspension means disposed in spaced rela tionalong said endless track and having low friction movement therealong indownward bracing engagement with said track, a continuous elongated beltflexible at least in a horizontal direction disposed vertically edge`wise beneath the guiding and suspension means and together therewithconforming to the pathway defined by said track, a radial thrust memberrotatably mounted on a vertical axis and exerting radial outwardpressure upon the horizontally flexible belt intermediate the upper andlower edges thereof to prevent inward llexing of the belt at the arcuatebends of the track, a plurality of fasteners secured along said beltadjacent the lower edge thereof and terminating in hanger-engagingmembers adjacent the belt and freely overlying said unrestricted space,and power means for causing said belt together with articles hungtherefrom to travel in suspended conformance with the track whilestressed against lateral misalignment at the arcuate bends thereof.

4. A traveling rack for supporting and moving a plurality of articlessuch as garments comprising, a supporting structure, an endless trackdisposed horizontally and secured to said supporting structure at anelevated position and providing a substantially unrestricted spacetherebeneath, said track having a plurality of arcuate bends disposed atspaced relation one with the other throughout the length of the track, aplurality of guide wheels secured to said supporting structure, oneguide Wheel being disposed at each arcuate bend in said track, anendless, flexible member trained about said guide wheels, said guidewheels engaging longitudinal medial portions of said ilexible member toimpart radial outward thrust to the member at the track bends, aplurality of pairs of rollers secured at longitudinally spaced points tothe upper edge of said flexible member engaging said track andsuspending the flexible member therefrom, a plurality of fastenerssecured at longitudinally spaced points independent of said rollersalong said ilexible member overlying said unrestricted space andpresenting adjacent the lower edge thereof means by which garmenthan-gers may be suspended.

5. A traveling rack for supporting and moving a pl-urality of articlessuch as garments comprising, a supporting structure, an endless trackdisposed horizontally and secured to said supporting structure at anelevated position and providing a substantially unrestricted spacetherebeneath, said track including inner and outer portions, the innerand outer portions presenting ap upper surfaces and the respective outerand inner peripheries of the inner and outer portions being spaced apartto define a slotted guideway therebetween, said guideway having aplurality of arcuate bends disposed at spaced relation one with theother throughout the length of the track, a plurality of guide Wheelssecured to said supporting structure, one guide Wheel being disposed ateach arcuate bend in said track between said inner and outer trackportions and spaced from the inner periphery of the outer track portionto continue the guideway in the region of the arcuate bends, said guidewheels having at upper surfaces coplanar with the upper surfaces of saidtrack portions, an endless, llexible member trained about said guidewheels, said guide wheels engaging longitudinal medial portions of saidflexible member to impart radial outward thrust to the member at thetrack bends, a plurality of pairs of rollers secured at 1ongitudinallyspaced points to the upper edge of said exible member engaging the uppersurfaces of said track portions and suspending the flexible membertherefrom, a plurality of fasteners secured at longitudinally spacedpoints along said exible member and independent of said rollers belowsaid track portions and presenting adjacent the lower edge of the exiblemember means by which garment hangers may be suspended.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS928,980 Kaufman et al July 27, 1909 1,219,899 Alvey Mar. 20, 19172,123,917 Sparling et a1. July 19, 1938 2,678,718 Black May 18, 19542,768,733 Wilson Oct. 30, 1956

